Electronic devices comprising air gaps adjacent to bitlines and related methods and systems

ABSTRACT

An electronic device that comprises bitlines and air gaps adjacent to an array region of an electronic device is disclosed. The bitlines comprise sloped sidewalls and a height of the air gaps is greater than a height of the bitlines. Additional electronic devices are disclosed, as are methods of forming an electronic device and related systems.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to electronic devices and electronicdevice fabrication. More particularly, embodiments of the disclosurerelate to electronic devices comprising air gaps adjacent to bitlines,the air gaps exhibiting a greater height than a height of the bitlinesand the bitlines having sloped sidewalls, and to related methods andsystems.

BACKGROUND

Electronic device designers often desire to increase the level ofintegration or density of features (e.g., components) within anelectronic device by reducing the dimensions of the individual featuresand by reducing the separation distance between neighboring features.Electronic device designers also desire to design architectures that arenot only compact, but offer performance advantages, as well assimplified designs. Reducing the dimensions and spacing of features ofthe electronic devices has placed increasing demands on the methods usedto form the electronic devices. One solution has been to formthree-dimensional (3D) electronic devices, such as 3D NAND memorydevices, in which memory cells are stacked vertically on a substrate.The electronic devices include access lines (e.g., wordlines) and datalines (e.g., bitlines) operably coupled to the memory cells. However, asthe bitlines of the electronic devices are formed closer together and atsmaller dimensions, the capacitive coupling between adjacent bitlinesincreases. Air gaps have been formed between adjacent bitlines to reducebitline to bitline coupling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of an electronic deviceincluding bitlines and air gaps according to embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIGS. 3-6 are cross-sectional views that illustrate forming theelectronic device of FIG. 1 according to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of an apparatus includingelectronic devices according to embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of a system including electronicdevices according to embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An electronic device that includes air gaps between adjacent bitlines isdisclosed. A portion of the air gaps extends a distance above an uppersurface of the bitlines. A portion of the air gaps may optionally extenda distance below a bottom surface of the bitlines. A height of the airgaps is greater than a height of the bitlines. The air gaps separateadjacent bitlines from one another. The air gaps and the bitlines alsoexhibit sloped (e.g., tapered) sidewalls, with a width at an upperportion of the bitlines greater than a width at a lower portion of thebitlines. Since the air gaps are taller than the bitlines, reducedcapacitance (e.g., bitline-bitline capacitance) is achieved between theadjacent bitlines. An upper portion of the air gaps, such as thedistance to which the air gaps extend above the upper surface of thebitlines, provides a substantially pentagonal cross-sectional shape tothe air gaps. The upper portion of the air gaps according to embodimentsof the disclosure provides additional volume relative to the volume ofair gaps in conventional electronic devices, which include bitlines withvertical sidewalls. The air gaps are wider (e.g., exhibit a greaterwidth) than the bitlines at a corresponding location. During formationof the electronic device containing the air gaps and the bitlines, thegreater width of the upper portion of the bitlines and the slopedsidewalls of the bitlines enable the air gaps to extend above the heightof the bitlines. One or more of the electronic devices according toembodiments of the disclosure is present in an apparatus (e.g., asemiconductor device, a memory device).

The reduced bitline-bitline capacitance is achieved without addingcomplex process acts to the formation of the electronic device. Thereduced capacitance between the adjacent bitlines improves electricalperformance of the electronic device, such as decreasing programmingtime and increasing processing speed. The improved electricalperformance is achieved while maintaining the resistance of theelectronic device, along with maintaining small dimensions of thebitlines compared to conventional electronic devices that includebitlines with vertical sidewalls.

The following description provides specific details, such as materialtypes, material thicknesses, and process conditions in order to providea thorough description of embodiments described herein. However, aperson of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the embodimentsdisclosed herein may be practiced without employing these specificdetails. Indeed, the embodiments may be practiced in conjunction withconventional fabrication techniques employed in the semiconductorindustry. In addition, the description provided herein does not form acomplete description of an electronic device or a complete process flowfor manufacturing the electronic device and the structures describedbelow do not form a complete electronic device. Only those process actsand structures necessary to understand the embodiments described hereinare described in detail below. Additional acts to form a completeelectronic device may be performed by conventional techniques.

Unless otherwise indicated, the materials described herein may be formedby conventional techniques including, but not limited to, spin coating,blanket coating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layerdeposition (ALD), plasma enhanced ALD, physical vapor deposition (PVD)(including sputtering, evaporation, ionized PVD, and/or plasma-enhancedCVD), or epitaxial growth. Alternatively, the materials may be grown insitu. Depending on the specific material to be formed, the technique fordepositing or growing the material may be selected by a person ofordinary skill in the art. The removal of materials may be accomplishedby any suitable technique including, but not limited to, etching (e.g.,dry etching, wet etching, vapor etching), ion milling, abrasiveplanarization (e.g., chemical-mechanical planarization), or other knownmethods unless the context indicates otherwise.

Drawings presented herein are for illustrative purposes only, and arenot meant to be actual views of any particular material, component,structure, electronic device, or system. Variations from the shapesdepicted in the drawings as a result, for example, of manufacturingtechniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodimentsdescribed herein are not to be construed as being limited to theparticular shapes or regions as illustrated, but include deviations inshapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, aregion illustrated or described as box-shaped may have rough and/ornonlinear features, and a region illustrated or described as round mayinclude some rough and/or linear features. Moreover, sharp angles thatare illustrated may be rounded, and vice versa. Thus, the regionsillustrated in the figures are schematic in nature, and their shapes arenot intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region and do notlimit the scope of the present claims. The drawings are not necessarilyto scale. Additionally, elements common between figures may retain thesame numerical designation.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

As used herein, the term “air gap” means and includes a void betweenadjacent structures or features. The void is not necessarily devoid of amaterial within its boundaries and may, for example, contain a gaseousspecies, such as air or an inert gas, or a vacuum.

As used herein, “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one ormore of the associated listed items.

As used herein, “about” or “approximately” in reference to a numericalvalue for a particular parameter is inclusive of the numerical value anda degree of variance from the numerical value that one of ordinary skillin the art would understand is within acceptable tolerances for theparticular parameter. For example, “about” or “approximately” inreference to a numerical value may include additional numerical valueswithin a range of from 90.0 percent to 110.0 percent of the numericalvalue, such as within a range of from 95.0 percent to 105.0 percent ofthe numerical value, within a range of from 97.5 percent to 102.5percent of the numerical value, within a range of from 99.0 percent to101.0 percent of the numerical value, within a range of from 99.5percent to 100.5 percent of the numerical value, or within a range offrom 99.9 percent to 100.1 percent of the numerical value.

As used herein, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,”“lower,” “bottom,” “above,” “upper,” “top,” “front,” “rear,” “left,”“right,” and the like, may be used for ease of description to describeone element's or feature's relationship to another element(s) orfeature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Unless otherwise specified,the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the materials in addition to the orientation depicted inthe figures. For example, if materials in the figures are inverted,elements described as “below” or “beneath” or “under” or “on bottom of”other elements or features would then be oriented “above” or “on top of”the other elements or features. Thus, the term “below” can encompassboth an orientation of above and below, depending on the context inwhich the term is used, which will be evident to one of ordinary skillin the art. The materials may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90degrees, inverted, flipped) and the spatially relative descriptors usedherein interpreted accordingly.

As used herein, the term “configured” refers to a size, shape, materialcomposition, and arrangement of one or more of at least one structureand at least one apparatus facilitating operation of one or more of thestructure and the apparatus in a pre-determined way.

As used herein, the term “electronic device” includes, withoutlimitation, a memory device, as well as semiconductor devices which mayor may not incorporate memory, such as a logic device, a processordevice, or a radiofrequency (RF) device. Further, an electronic devicemay incorporate memory in addition to other functions such as, forexample, a so-called “system on a chip” (SoC) including a processor andmemory, or an electronic device including logic and memory. Theelectronic device may, for example, be a 3D electronic device, such as a3D NAND Flash memory device.

As used herein, reference to an element as being “on” or “over” anotherelement means and includes the element being directly on top of,adjacent to (e.g., laterally adjacent to, vertically adjacent to),underneath, or in direct contact with the other element. It alsoincludes the element being indirectly on top of, adjacent to (e.g.,laterally adjacent to, vertically adjacent to), underneath, or near theother element, with other elements present therebetween. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or “directlyadjacent to” another element, no intervening elements are present.

As used herein, the term “selectively etchable” means and includes amaterial that exhibits a greater etch rate responsive to exposure to agiven etch chemistry and/or process conditions relative to anothermaterial exposed to the same etch chemistry and/or process conditions.For example, the material may exhibit an etch rate that is at leastabout five times greater than the etch rate of another material, such asan etch rate of about ten times greater, about twenty times greater, orabout forty times greater than the etch rate of the another material.Etch chemistries and etch conditions for selectively etching a desiredmaterial may be selected by a person of ordinary skill in the art.

As used herein, the term “substantially” in reference to a givenparameter, property, or condition means and includes to a degree thatone of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the givenparameter, property, or condition is met with a degree of variance, suchas within acceptable manufacturing tolerances. By way of example,depending on the particular parameter, property, or condition that issubstantially met, the parameter, property, or condition may be at least90.0% met, at least 95.0% met, at least 99.0% met, or even at least99.9% met.

As used herein, the term “substrate” means and includes a material(e.g., a base material) or construction upon which additional materialsare formed. The substrate may be a an electronic substrate, asemiconductor substrate, a base semiconductor layer on a supportingstructure, an electrode, an electronic substrate having one or morematerials, layers, structures, or regions formed thereon, or asemiconductor substrate having one or more materials, layers,structures, or regions formed thereon. The materials on the electronicsubstrate or semiconductor substrate may include, but are not limitedto, semiconductive materials, insulating materials, conductivematerials, etc. The substrate may be a conventional silicon substrate orother bulk substrate comprising a layer of semiconductive material. Asused herein, the term “bulk substrate” means and includes not onlysilicon wafers, but also silicon-on-insulator (“SOI”) substrates, suchas silicon-on-sapphire (“SOS”) substrates and silicon-on-glass (“SOG”)substrates, epitaxial layers of silicon on a base semiconductorfoundation, and other semiconductor or optoelectronic materials, such assilicon-germanium, germanium, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, andindium phosphide. The substrate may be doped or undoped.

As used herein, the terms “pentagon” or “pentagonal” mean and include ashape having five sides. While the sides of the pentagon may besubstantially linear, in some embodiments an upper surface of thepentagon may be arcuate (e.g., curved), forming a somewhat trapezoidalcross-sectional shape.

As used herein, the terms “vertical,” “longitudinal,” “horizontal,” and“lateral” are in reference to a major plane of a structure and are notnecessarily defined by Earth's gravitational field. A “horizontal” or“lateral” direction is a direction that is substantially parallel to themajor plane of the structure, while a “vertical” or “longitudinal”direction is a direction that is substantially perpendicular to themajor plane of the structure. The major plane of the structure isdefined by a surface of the structure having a relatively large areacompared to other surfaces of the structure.

An electronic device 100 according to embodiments of the disclosureincludes air gaps 105 and bitlines 110 as shown in FIG. 1. The air gaps105 are adjacent to the bitlines 110 and extend a distance above thebitlines 110 and, optionally, below the bitlines 110. The air gaps 105exhibit a substantially pentagonal cross-sectional shape. In FIG. 1, theair gaps 105 and the bitlines 110 extend in an x-z direction thatextends substantially parallel to a major surface of a base material(not shown) that supports the air gaps 105 and the bitlines 110. The airgaps 105 are laterally adjacent to the bitlines 110 and upper surfaces105 a of the air gaps 105 extend above upper surfaces 110 a of thebitlines 110. Lower surfaces 105 b of the air gaps 105 may optionallyextend below lower surfaces 110 b of the bitlines 110. The bitlines 110include sloped sidewalls 110 c. A height H₁ of the air gaps 105 isgreater than a height H₂ of the bitlines 110. An upper portion 105 d ofthe air gaps 105 extends a height H₃ in the vertical direction above theupper surfaces 110 a of the bitlines 110. A lower portion 105 e of theair gaps 105 extends a height H₄ in the vertical direction below thelower surfaces 110 b of the bitlines 110.

The air gaps 105 are defined by an oxide material 115, the slopedsidewalls 110 c of the bitlines 110, sidewalls 120 c of a first stackmaterial 120 of a stack 140 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), and an array region125. For example, the air gaps 105 are defined by a lower surface 115 bof the oxide material 115, the sloped sidewalls 110 c of the bitlines110, the sloped sidewalls 120 c of the first stack material 120 belowthe bitlines 110, and an upper surface 125 a of the array region 125.The array region 125 of the electronic device 100 is adjacent to (e.g.,below) the bitlines 110 and the air gaps 105. The array region 125 isadjacent to (e.g., over, on) the base material. A portion of the stack140 separates the bitlines 110 from the array region 125. The air gaps105 are continuous in that the height H₁ continuously extends in avertical direction from the upper surface 125 a of the array region 125to the lower surface 115 b of the oxide material 115. Therefore,laterally adjacent bitlines 110 are separated from one another by theair gaps 105 that continuously extend in the vertical direction aboveand below the upper surfaces 110 a and the lower surfaces 110 b of thebitlines 110. The upper portion 105 d of the air gaps 105 exhibits asubstantially triangular cross-sectional shape or a substantiallysemi-circular cross-sectional shape, in contrast to conventionalelectronic devices, which exhibit a substantially rectangularcross-sectional shape. Since the lower surface 115 b of the oxidematerial 115 is not vertical, the upper portion 105 d of the air gaps105 according to embodiments of the disclosure is not rectangular in itscross-sectional shape.

The sidewalls 110 c of the bitlines 110 are sloped (e.g., tapered),resulting in the air gaps 105 defined by the sidewalls 110 c of thebitlines 110 being sloped (e.g., tapered). A width W₁ of the upperportion 110 d of the bitlines 110 is greater than a width W₂ of thelower portion 110 e of the bitlines 110. The width W₂ of the lowerportion 110 e of the bitlines 110 may correspond to a desired criticaldimension (CD) of the bitlines 110 for electrical coupling (e.g.,electrical connection) to underlying conductive structures (not shown)in the array region 125, such as to underlying contacts. Since the CD ofthe lower portion 110 e of the bitlines 110 is less than the CD of theupper portion 110 d of the bitlines 110, the bitlines 110 may land on(e.g., contact) the underlying conductive structures without increasingthe complexity of the process of forming the electronic device 100. Thesloped sidewalls 110 c of the bitlines 110, therefore, enable thebitlines 110 to be easily operably coupled (e.g., electrically coupled)to the conductive structures in the array region 125. A width W₃ of theupper portions 105 d of the air gaps 105 (e.g., the width betweenadjacent upper portions 110 d of the bitlines 110) is less than a widthW₄ of the lower portions 105 e of the air gaps 105 (e.g., the widthbetween adjacent lower portions 110 e of the bitlines 110). Since thesidewalls 110 c of the bitlines 110 are sloped and the lower surface 115b of the oxide material 115 is not vertical, dimensions (e.g., heights,widths) of the bitlines 110 and air gaps 105 vary depending on thelocation within the bitlines 110 or the air gaps 105. Relative widths ofthe bitlines 110 and air gaps 105 refer to the width at a similar (e.g.,corresponding) location. By way of example only, the relative widths W₃,W₄ of the air gaps 105 and W₁, W₂ of the bitlines 110 are at similarlocations in the z direction.

The height H₁ refers to the maximum distance between the upper surface125 a of the array region 125 and the lower surface 115 b of the oxidematerial 115. The height H₂ refers to the distance between the uppersurface 110 a of the bitlines 110 and the lower surface 110 b of thebitlines 110. The distance to which the upper portion 105 d of the airgaps 105 extends above the upper surfaces 110 a of the bitlines 110(e.g., above a plane coplanar with the upper surfaces 110 a of thebitlines 110) may vary since the lower surface 115 b of the oxidematerial 115 is not substantially vertical. The height H₃ refers to themaximum distance between the plane coplanar with the upper surfaces 110a of the bitlines 110 and the lower surface 115 b of the oxide material115 in a directly vertical direction. The height H₄ is the distancebetween the upper surface 125 a of the array region 125 and a planecoplanar with the lower surface 110 b of the bitlines 110.

The air gaps 105 exhibit a substantially pentagonal cross-sectionalshape in the x-z direction, with the upper portion 105 d of the air gaps105 exhibiting the substantially triangular cross-sectional shape andthe lower portion 105 e of the air gaps 105 exhibiting a substantiallyquadrilateral cross-sectional shape. While FIGS. 1 and 2 show the upperportion 105 d of the air gaps 105 as being substantially triangular incross-sectional shape, the lower surface 115 b of the oxide material 115may exhibit a rounded shape (e.g., an arcuate shape) such that the upperportion 105 d of the air gaps 105 exhibits a semi-circularcross-sectional shape. The cross-sectional shape of the upper portion105 d of the air gaps 105 may, therefore, be substantially triangular orsubstantially semi-circular. By adjusting the height H₃ and thecross-sectional shape of the upper portion 105 d of the air gaps 105,desired electrical performance properties of the electronic device 100may be achieved. The cross-sectional shape of the lower portion 105 e ofthe air gaps 105 may be quadrilateral, such as being substantiallytrapezoidal or substantially rectangular, depending on the slope of thesidewalls 120 c of the first stack material 120.

The bitlines 110 are laterally separated from one another (e.g. in the xdirection) by the air gaps 105, with the air gaps 105 directlycontacting the bitlines 110. The bitlines 110 are separated from thearray region 125 (e.g. in the z direction) by a portion of the stack140, such as by the first stack material 120. For example, a portion ofthe first stack material 120 may intervene between the bitlines 110 andthe array region 125. The array region 125 is indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2as being a single material for convenience. However, the array region125 includes one or more component(s) of the electronic device 100, suchas one or more wordlines, one or more tiers of alternating dielectricmaterials and conductive materials, one or more memory cells, one ormore pillars (e.g., memory pillars), one or more staircase structures,one or more contacts, etc., depending on a desired function of theapparatus containing the one or more of the electronic devices 100according to embodiments of the disclosure. The components of the arrayregion 125 may be formed by conventional techniques.

Accordingly, an electronic device that comprises bitlines and air gapsadjacent to an array region of an electronic device is disclosed. Thebitlines comprise sloped sidewalls and a height of the air gaps isgreater than a height of the bitlines.

Accordingly, another electronic device is disclosed and comprises apattern of bitlines and air gaps adjacent to an array region of anelectronic device. The air gaps are defined by an oxide materialoverlying the bitlines and air gaps, sloped sidewalls of laterallyadjacent bitlines, and an upper surface of the array region. The airgaps extend a distance above the bitlines.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic device 100 according to embodimentsof the disclosure includes the air gaps 105 and bitlines 110, with aheight of the air gaps 105 indicated by line 200. The air gaps 105extend above the bitlines 110, the height of which is indicated by line205. For comparison, a height of air gaps of conventional electronicdevices is indicated by line 210. The height of the air gaps 105according to embodiments of the disclosure is greater than the height ofthe bitlines 110.

The electronic device 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2 may be formed as shown inFIGS. 3-6, which are cross-sectional views of the electronic device 100during fabrication. As shown in FIG. 3, the first stack material 120′ isformed adjacent to (e.g., over) the array region 125, which is formedadjacent to (e.g., over) the base material (not shown). A second stackmaterial 130 is formed over the first stack material 120′ and a thirdstack material 135 is formed over the second stack material 130. Thefirst stack material 120′, the second stack material 130, and the thirdstack material 135 form the stack 140 of materials into which thebitlines 110 are subsequently formed. The first stack material 120′, thesecond stack material 130, and the third stack material 135 may, forexample, be dielectric materials. By way of example only, the firststack material 120′ may be a first nitride material, the second stackmaterial 130 may be an oxide material, and the third stack material 135may be a second nitride material. The first nitride material and thesecond nitride material may independently be silicon nitride, siliconoxynitride, or a combination thereof and the oxide material may besilicon oxide. In some embodiments, the first stack material 120′ issilicon nitride, the second stack material 130 is silicon oxide, and thethird stack material 135 is silicon nitride. While the stack 140 isdescribed and illustrated herein as including multiple materials (e.g.,two or more materials, three or more materials), the stack 140 may beformed of a single material in which a desired sidewall profile may beachieved, such as the sloped sidewalls 140 c of the stack 140. The oneor more materials of the stack 140 may be selected to be selectivelyetchable relative to a material of the bitlines 110.

Each of the first stack material 120′, the second stack material 130,and the third stack material 135 may be formed by conventionaltechniques. The first stack material 120′, the second stack material130, and the third stack material 135 may be independently formed to adesired thickness, such as a thickness of from about 200 Å to about 1000Å. A total thickness to which the first stack material 120′, the secondstack material 130, and the third stack material 135 are formed maydepend on desired dimensions (e.g., height H₂) of the bitlines 110. Insome embodiments, each of the first stack material 120′, the secondstack material 130, and the third stack material 135 are formed at athickness of about 400 Å.

Portions of the stack 140 are removed, as shown in FIG. 4, to formopenings 145 and patterned stack 140′. The openings 145 may be formed byconventional techniques, such as conventional photolithographytechniques. The openings 145 extend through the second stack material130 and the third stack material 135 and into the first stack material120′. A portion 120 of the first stack material 120′ remains below theopenings 145, separating the openings 145 from the array region 125. Theopenings 145 are defined by sidewalls 140 c′ of the patterned stack 140′and an upper surface of the patterned first stack material 120″. Theopenings 145 correspond to locations where the material of the bitlines110 is ultimately formed. The sidewalls 140 c′ of the patterned stack140′ are sloped and correspond to a desired etch profile of the openings145.

One or more etch processes may be conducted to form the openings 145 andthe patterned stack 140′. For example, a single etch process may be usedto form the openings 145. Alternatively, a first etch process may beused to remove the portions of the third stack material 135 and thesecond stack material 130 and a second etch process may be used toremove the portions of the first stack material 120′. Alternatively, afirst etch process may be used to remove portions of the first stackmaterial 120′ before forming the second stack material 130 and the thirdstack material 135 adjacent to the first stack material 120′. Afterforming the second stack material 130 and the third stack material 135,a second etch process may be conducted to remove the portions of thesecond stack material 130 and the third stack material 135. In someembodiments, the openings 145 are formed by a dry etch process.Conventional etch chemistries (e.g., etch gases) are used to form theopenings 145 and may be selected based on the materials used for thefirst stack material 120′, the second stack material 130, and the thirdstack material 135. The etch chemistries (e.g., etch gases) may befluorine-based or chlorine-based chemistries including, but not limitedto, one or more of CF₄, CHF₃, C₂F₆, CCl₄, Cl₂, NF₃, or SF₆.

The portions of the first stack material 120′, the second stack material130, and the third stack material 135 are removed by an etch process,such as by a dry plasma etch process, to form a patterned first stackmaterial 120″, a patterned second stack material 130′, and a patternedthird stack material 135′. Sidewalls 120 c″, 130 c′, and 135 c′ of thepatterned first stack material 120″, the patterned second stack material130′ and the patterned third stack material 135′ are aligned with oneanother to form the openings 145 in the stack 140. The remainingportions of the patterned first stack material 120″, the patternedsecond stack material 130′, and the patterned third stack material 135′may exhibit sloped sidewalls 120 c″, 130 c′, 135 c′ (e.g., taperedsidewalls), with the openings 145 forming the pattern in the stack 140(e.g., the patterned stack 140′). The sloped sidewalls 140 c′ of thepatterned stack 140′ define the sidewalls of the openings 145. A widthW₅ of an upper portion 145 d of the openings 145 is greater than a widthW₆ of a lower portion 145 e of the openings 145. In other words, theupper portion 140 d of the patterned stack 140′ is narrower than thelower portion 140 e of the patterned stack 140′. While FIG. 4illustrates the sidewalls 140 c′ of the stack 140 as exhibiting asubstantially linear slope, the slope of the sidewalls 135 c′ of thepatterned third stack material 135′ may be greater than the slope of thesidewalls 120 c″, 130 c′ of the patterned first stack material 120″ orthe patterned second stack material 130′. For instance, the slope of thesidewalls 130 c′, 135 c′ of the patterned second stack material 130′ andthe patterned third stack material 135′ may be greater than the slope ofthe sidewalls 120 c″ of the patterned first stack material 120″.Alternatively, the sidewalls 130 c′, 135 c′ of the patterned secondstack material 130′ and the patterned third stack material 135′ may besloped while the sidewalls 120 c″ of the patterned first stack material120″ may be vertical or substantially vertical. Alternatively, thesidewalls 135 c′ of the patterned third stack material 135′ may besloped while the sidewalls 120 c″, 130 c′ of the patterned first stackmaterial 120″ and the patterned second stack material 130′ may bevertical or substantially vertical. An angle θ defined by anintersection between a vector parallel to the sloped sidewalls 140 c′ ofthe patterned stack 140′ and a vector parallel to a lower surface 145 bof the openings 145 may be less than about 90 degrees. By way of exampleonly, a pattern of the openings 145 and the patterned stack 140′ may beformed by a dual damascene process, such as by using a pitch quadruplingprocess.

A conductive material 150 is formed in the openings 145 to form thebitlines 110, as shown in FIG. 5. Excess conductive material formed overthe patterned stack 140′ may be removed by conventional techniques, suchas by abrasive planarization (e.g., chemical-mechanical planarization(CMP)). The patterned third stack material 135′ may, for example,function as an etch stop layer during the CMP of the conductive material150. The conductive material 150 may be an electrically conductivematerial, such as a conductively-doped semiconductor material, undopedpolysilicon, or a metal. The conductively-doped semiconductor materialmay include n-doped polysilicon, p-doped polysilicon, aconductively-doped germanium (Ge) material, or a conductively-dopedsilicon germanium (SiGe) material. The metal may be an elemental metal,such as tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo), niobium (Nb),vanadium (V), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), chromium (Cr), zirconium(Zr), iron (Fe), ruthenium (Ru), osmium (Os), cobalt (Co), rhodium (Rh),iridium (Ir), nickel (Ni), palladium (Pa), platinum (Pt), copper (Cu),silver (Ag), gold (Au), aluminum (Al)), or an alloy thereof.Alternatively, the metal may be a metal-containing compound, such as ametal nitride, a metal silicide, a metal carbide, or a metal oxide. Insome embodiments, the conductive material 150 is tungsten.

Since the upper portions 145 d of the openings 145 are wider than thelower portions 145 e of the openings 145 and since the sidewalls 140 c′of the patterned stack 140′ are sloped, the conductive material 150 maybe formed in the openings 145 without voids or seams forming in thebitlines 110. The conductive material 150 substantially completely fillsthe openings 145 to form the bitlines 110, with the upper portion 110 dof the bitlines 110 being wider than the lower portion 110 e of thebitlines 110. Therefore, the resulting bitlines 110 are substantiallyfree of voids and seams even though the bitlines 110 may exhibit smalldimensions and be more closely spaced to one another than the bitlinesof conventional electronic devices. The upper portion 140 d′ of thepatterned stack 140′ is narrower than the lower portion 140 e′ of thepatterned stack 140′.

The patterned stack 140′ is then removed (e.g., etched), as shown inFIG. 6, to form a pattern of the bitlines 110 and spaces 155. Thebitlines 110 are separated (e.g., spaced apart) from one another in thex direction by the spaces 155. The patterned second stack material 130′and the patterned third stack material 135′ may be substantiallyremoved, while only a portion of the patterned first stack material 120″is removed. The desired portions of the patterned stack 140′ are removedwithout substantially removing the conductive material 150 of thebitlines 110. In other words, the conductive material 150 of thebitlines 110 is not substantially removed (e.g., consumed) by the etchchemistry and etch conditions used to remove the patterned stack 140′.Since the bitlines 110 extend into, but not through, the patterned firststack material 120″, the first stack material 120 of the patterned firststack material 120″ adjacent to (e.g., below) the bitlines 110 remainsbetween the array region 125 and the bitlines 110. The first stackmaterial 120 separates the array region 125 from the bitlines 110. Whilenot illustrated in FIG. 6, the first stack material 120 of the patternedfirst stack material 120″ may optionally surround a portion of the lowerportions 110 e of the bitlines 110. Alternatively, the first stackmaterial 120 of the patterned first stack material 120″ may only bepresent between the array region 125 and the bitlines 110. While FIG. 6shows the sidewalls 120 c of the first stack material 120 as sloped, thesidewalls 120 c may be substantially vertical depending on the etchconditions used to remove the patterned stack 140′. While the pattern ofbitlines 110 and spaces 155 is described and illustrated as being formedby the removal of some of the materials of the patterned stack 140′, thebitlines 110 and spaces 155 may also be formed by printing the bitlines110 and spaces 155 by conventional techniques.

The materials of the patterned stack 140′ may be removed by conventionaltechniques, such as by a dry etch process, a wet etch process, or acombination thereof, to form the pattern of bitlines 110 and spaces 155.Conventional etch chemistries (e.g., etch gases, wet etch chemistries)are used to remove the patterned first stack material 120″, thepatterned second stack material 130′, and the patterned third stackmaterial 135′ and may be selected based on the materials used for thefirst stack material 120′, the second stack material 130, and the thirdstack material 135. The wet etch chemistries may include, but are notlimited to, hydrogen fluoride (HF), a buffered oxide etch (BOE), orphosphoric acid. One or more etch processes may be conducted to form thepattern of bitlines 110 and spaces 155. For example, a single etchprocess may be used to form the pattern of bitlines 110 and spaces 155.Alternatively, a first etch process may be used to remove the patternedsecond stack material 130′ and the third stack material 135′ and asecond etch process may be used to remove the portions of the patternedfirst stack material 120″.

One or more cleaning process may be conducted to remove residualmaterials of the patterned stack 140′ and/or to remove etchant residues(e.g., polymers) formed on the sloped sidewalls 110 c of the bitlines110 during the etch processes. The cleaning process may includeconventional chemistries. The oxide material 115 is then formed adjacentto (e.g., over) the pattern of bitlines 110 and spaces 155, forming theair gaps 105 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The oxide material 115 may be asilicon oxide formed from silane or a silane-based precursor. The oxidematerial 115 may be formed over the bitlines 110, with substantially nooxide material 115 forming within the spaces 155. In other words, theoxide material 115 is not conformally formed (e.g., is subconformallyformed). The oxide material 115 may, for example, be formed by a lowefficiency process that produces voids. The lower surface 115 b of theoxide material 115 proximal to the spaces 155 defines the upper surface105 a of the air gaps 105 while the upper surfaces 125 a of the arrayregion 125 define the lower surface 105 b of the air gaps 105. Thesloped sidewalls 110 c of the bitlines 110 and the sidewalls 120 c ofthe first stack material 120 define the sidewalls of the air gaps 105.The oxide material 115 may be formed at a high deposition rate tofacilitate forming the air gaps 105. Since the width W₃ between theupper portions 110 d of the bitlines 110 is narrow, the oxide material115 does not substantially form within the air gaps 105. The uppersurface 105 a of the air gaps 105 is higher than (e.g., not coplanarwith) the upper surface 110 a of the bitlines 110. By subconformallyforming the oxide material 115, the height H₃ of the upper portion 105 dof the air gaps 105 extends above the bitlines 110 and thecross-sectional shape of the upper portion 105 d is substantiallytriangular or substantially semi-circular. For example, the height H₃may be from about 2 nm to about 12 nm, such as from about 5 nm to about10 nm, above the bitlines 110. The height H₃ may be varied within theabove range depending on the desired electrical performance propertiesof the electronic device 100. Without being bound by any theory, it isbelieved that the sloped sidewalls 110 c of the bitlines 110 and thesubconformal formation of the oxide material 115 enable the upperportion 105 d of the air gaps 105 to be formed above the bitlines 110.

The bitlines 110 and air gaps 105 form a pattern where the height H₁ ofthe air gaps 105 is greater than the height H₂ of the bitlines 110.Since the air gaps 105 extend above the height of the bitlines 110, theapparatus including the electronic devices 100 according to embodimentsof the disclosure exhibits improved electrical performance compared toapparatus containing conventional electronic devices having air gapsthat do not extend above the bitlines. The height H₁ of the air gaps 105is greater than the height of the air gaps in conventional electronicdevices since the air gaps in the conventional electronic devices do notextend above the bitlines of the conventional electronic devices. Sincethe sloped sidewalls 110 c of the bitlines 110 according to embodimentsof the disclosure are sloped, the height H₂ of the bitlines 110 may bemaintained relative to the height of the bitlines of conventionalelectronic devices, which enables the electronic devices 100 to exhibita resistance that is substantially the same as or improved relative tothat of conventional electronic devices. The sloped sidewalls 110 c ofthe bitlines 110 also enable the apparatus including the electronicdevices 100 according to embodiments of the disclosure to exhibit areduced capacitance. By way of example only, the capacitance betweenadjacent bitlines 110 may be reduced by about 20% relative to thecapacitance between adjacent bitlines of conventional electronicdevices. By forming the air gaps 105 laterally adjacent to and extendingabove the bitlines 110, the reduction in capacitance is achieved whilemaintaining or improving resistance and maintaining the small dimensionsof the bitlines 110.

The width W₁ of the bitlines 110 according to embodiments of thedisclosure is also less than a width of bitlines of the conventionalelectronic devices, which corresponds to the increased width W₃ of theair gaps 105. Therefore, a ratio of the width W₁ of the bitlines 110 tothe width W₃ of the air gaps 105 is less than 1. In other words, aline:space (L:S) ratio of the width of the bitlines 110 to the width ofthe air gaps 105 is less than 1.0 compared to the L:S ratio of about 1.0for conventional electronic devices. By way of example only, the L:Sratio may be less than about 0.99, less than about 0.95, less than about0.92, or less than about 0.90. For instance, the L:S ratio may bebetween about 0.60 and about 0.99, such as between about 0.60 and about0.95, between about 0.60 and about 0.92, or between about 0.60 and about0.90. By forming the openings 145 in which the bitlines 110 aresubsequently formed having sloped sidewalls 110 c, the L:S ratio of thepattern of bitlines 110 and spaces 155 may be less than that ofconventional electronic devices formed at substantially the same pitchwhere the L:S ratio is about 1. The greater height and greater width ofthe air gaps 105 according to embodiments of the disclosure result inthe air gaps 105 having a greater volume than the volume of air gaps inconventional electronic devices for a given pitch, improving thebitline-bitline capacitance.

Accordingly, a method of forming an electronic device is disclosed. Themethod comprises forming openings in a stack adjacent to an arrayregion, with an upper portion of the openings exhibiting a greater widththan a lower portion of the openings. Bitlines are formed in theopenings and a portion of the stack is removed to form spaces betweenadjacent bitlines. An oxide material is formed adjacent to the bitlinesand the spaces, the oxide material defining air gaps between theadjacent bitlines.

Accordingly, another method of forming an electronic device isdisclosed. The method comprises forming a patterned stack adjacent to anarray region, the patterned stack comprising sloped sidewalls thatdefine openings therein. A conductive material is formed in the openingsto form bitlines and the patterned stack is removed to form spacesbetween the bitlines. An oxide material is formed over the bitlines, theoxide material defining air gaps between the bitlines and a height ofthe air gaps greater than a height of the bitlines.

In contrast to bitlines of conventional electronic devices that havevertical or substantially vertical sidewalls, the bitlines 110 and airgaps 105 of the embodiments of the disclosure exhibit the sloped (e.g.,tapered) sidewalls 110 c, 105 c. Without being bound by any theory, itis believed that the sloped sidewalls 110 c of the bitlines 110 enablethe air gaps 105 to be formed and extend above the upper surface 110 aof the bitlines 110. The pattern of the bitlines 110 and air gaps 105may be formed without adding process acts compared to conventionalprocesses of forming electronic devices. In addition, if the formationof the bitlines 110 and air gaps 105 of the disclosure is conductedusing a single etch chemistry, additional cost savings are achieved informing the electronic device 100 containing the bitlines 110 and airgaps 105.

One or more of the electronic devices 100 including the bitlines 110 andair gaps 105 according to embodiments of the disclosure may be presentin an apparatus. Additional process acts are conducted to form theapparatus including the one or more electronic devices 100. In theapparatus, the bitlines 110 are operably coupled (e.g., electricallyconnected) to conductive structures (e.g., contacts, vias) in the arrayregion 125 and above the bitlines 110. The process acts to form theapparatus are conducted by conventional techniques.

The apparatus may include, but is not limited to, a 3D NAND Flash memorydevice. The 3D NAND Flash memory device may be formed, for example, by aso-called “floating gate” process or a so-called “replacement gate”process. The apparatus including the electronic devices 100 are presentin a memory array 700, as shown schematically in FIG. 7, with the memoryarray 700 including multiple electronic devices 100. The memory array700 includes an array of memory cells 702 and a control logic component704. The control logic component 704 may be configured to operativelyinteract with the array of memory cells 702 so as to read, write, orre-fresh any or all memory cells within the array of memory cells 702.The memory cells of the memory array 700 are coupled (e.g., operablycoupled, operably connected) to access lines (e.g., wordlines), and theaccess lines are coupled to the bitlines 110 (e.g., data lines), whichare operably coupled (e.g., electrically connected) to conductivestructures above the bitlines 110. A string of memory cells of thememory array 700 is coupled in series between a source line and thebitlines 110, with the memory cells positioned between the access linesand the bitlines 110. Each of the access lines may extend in a firstdirection and may connect a row of the memory cells. Each of thebitlines 110 may extend in a second direction that is at leastsubstantially perpendicular to the first direction and may connect acolumn of the memory cells. Additional process acts to form the memoryarray 700 including the one or more electronic devices 100 are conductedby conventional techniques.

A system 800 (e.g., an electronic system) is also disclosed, as shown inFIG. 8, and includes the one or more electronic devices 100 according toembodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram ofthe system 800 implemented according to one or more embodimentsdescribed herein. The system 800 may comprise, for example, a computeror computer hardware component, a server or other networking hardwarecomponent, a cellular telephone, a digital camera, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), portable media (e.g., music) player, a Wi-Fi orcellular-enabled tablet such as, for example, an iPad® or SURFACE®tablet, an electronic book, a navigation device, etc. The system 800includes at least one memory device 802, which includes one or more ofthe electronic devices 100 as previously described. The system 800 mayfurther include at least one processor 804, such as a microprocessor, tocontrol the processing of system functions and requests in the system800. The processor device 804 and other subcomponents of the system 800may include the memory cells. The processor device 804 may, optionally,include one or more memory arrays 700 as previously described.

Various other devices may be coupled to the processor device 804depending on the functions that the system 800 performs. For example, aninput device 806 may be coupled to the processor device 804 forinputting information into the system 800 by a user, such as, forexample, a mouse or other pointing device, a button, a switch, akeyboard, a touchpad, a light pen, a digitizer and stylus, a touchscreen, a voice recognition system, a microphone, a control panel, or acombination thereof. An output device 808 for outputting information(e.g., visual or audio output) to a user may also be coupled to theprocessor device 804. The output device 808 may include an LCD display,an SED display, a CRT display, a DLP display, a plasma display, an OLEDdisplay, an LED display, a three-dimensional projection, an audiodisplay, or a combination thereof. The output device 808 may alsoinclude a printer, an audio output jack, a speaker, etc. In someembodiments, the input device 806 and the output device 808 may comprisea single touchscreen device that can be used both to input informationto the system 800 and to output visual information to a user. The one ormore input devices 806 and output devices 808 may communicateelectrically with at least one of the memory device 802 and theprocessor device 804. The at least one memory device 802 and processordevice 804 may also be used in a system on chip (SoC).

Accordingly, a system is disclosed. The system comprises a processoroperably coupled to an input device and an output device, and anelectronic device operably coupled to the processor. The electronicdevice comprises memory cells in an array region, bitlines coupled tothe memory cells, and air gaps laterally adjacent to the bitlines. Aheight of the air gaps is greater than a height of the bitlines and theair gaps exhibit a pentagonal cross-sectional shape.

While certain illustrative embodiments have been described in connectionwith the figures, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize andappreciate that embodiments encompassed by the disclosure are notlimited to those embodiments explicitly shown and described herein.Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications to the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the scope ofembodiments encompassed by the disclosure, such as those hereinafterclaimed, including legal equivalents. In addition, features from onedisclosed embodiment may be combined with features of another disclosedembodiment while still being encompassed within the scope of thedisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: bitlines and airgaps adjacent to an array region of an electronic device, the bitlinescomprising sloped sidewalls and a height of the air gaps greater than aheight of the bitlines.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein awidth of an upper portion of the bitlines is greater than a width of alower portion of the bitlines.
 3. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the air gaps are laterally adjacent to the bitlines, anddirectly contact the bitlines and an oxide material overlying thebitlines and air gaps.
 4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein awidth of the air gaps at a particular location is greater than a widthof the bitlines at a corresponding location.
 5. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein an upper portion of the air gaps exhibits a triangularcross-sectional shape.
 6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein anupper portion of the air gaps exhibits a semi-circular cross-sectionalshape.
 7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the air gaps exhibita pentagonal cross-sectional shape.
 8. The electronic device of claim 1,further comprising a dielectric material between the bitlines and thearray region.
 9. An electronic device, comprising: a pattern of bitlinesand air gaps adjacent to an array region of an electronic device, theair gaps defined by an oxide material overlying the bitlines and airgaps, sloped sidewalls of laterally adjacent bitlines, and an uppersurface of the array region, the air gaps extending a distance above thebitlines.
 10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein a lower surfaceof the oxide material defines an upper surface of the air gaps.
 11. Theelectronic device of claim 10, wherein the air gaps extend continuouslybetween the upper surface of the array region and the lower surface ofthe oxide material.
 12. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein theair gaps extend a distance below the bitlines.
 13. The electronic deviceof claim 9, wherein an upper portion of the air gaps is laterallyadjacent to the oxide material.
 14. The electronic device of claim 9,wherein a ratio of a width of the bitlines to a width of the air gaps isless than
 1. 15. A method of forming an electronic device, comprising:forming openings in a stack adjacent to an array region, an upperportion of the openings exhibiting a greater width than a lower portionof the openings; forming bitlines in the openings; removing a portion ofthe stack to form spaces between adjacent bitlines; and forming an oxidematerial adjacent to the bitlines and the spaces, the oxide materialdefining air gaps between the adjacent bitlines.
 16. The method of claim15, wherein forming openings in a stack adjacent to an array regioncomprises removing a portion of the stack to form a patterned stack, thepatterned stack exhibiting sloped sidewalls.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein forming openings in a stack adjacent to an array regioncomprises forming the openings in one or more materials of the stack.18. The method of claim 17, wherein forming the openings in one or morematerials of the stack comprises forming sloped sidewalls in two or morematerials of the stack.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein forming anoxide material adjacent to the bitlines and the spaces comprises formingthe oxide material over the bitlines and the spaces.
 20. The method ofclaim 15, wherein forming an oxide material adjacent to the bitlines andthe spaces comprises subconformally forming the oxide material over thebitlines and the spaces.
 21. The method of claim 15, wherein forming anoxide material adjacent to the bitlines and the spaces comprises formingthe air gaps exhibiting a greater height than a height of the bitlines.22. A method of forming an electronic device, comprising: forming apatterned stack adjacent to an array region, the patterned stackcomprising sloped sidewalls that define openings therein; forming aconductive material in the openings to form bitlines; removing thepatterned stack to form spaces between the bitlines; and forming anoxide material over the bitlines, the oxide material defining air gapsbetween the bitlines and a height of the air gaps greater than a heightof the bitlines.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein forming a patternedstack comprising sloped sidewalls that define openings therein comprisesforming the openings in a stack comprising a first nitride material, anoxide material adjacent to the first nitride material, and a secondnitride material adjacent to the oxide material.
 24. The method of claim23, wherein forming a patterned stack comprising sloped sidewalls thatdefine openings therein comprises forming the sloped sidewalls in thefirst nitride material, the oxide material and the second nitridematerial.
 25. The method of claim 22, wherein forming the air gapsoccurs after forming the bitlines.
 26. The method of claim 22, whereinforming an oxide material over the bitlines comprises forming the oxidematerial over the bitlines without forming the oxide material in thespaces.
 27. A system, comprising: a processor operably coupled to aninput device and an output device; and an electronic device operablycoupled to the processor, the electronic device comprising: memory cellsin an array region, bitlines coupled to the memory cells, and air gapslaterally adjacent to the bitlines, a height of the air gaps greaterthan a height of the bitlines and the air gaps exhibiting a pentagonalcross-sectional shape.